


Lights out

by Wandering_North



Category: Dream Team - Fandom
Genre: Blind Character, Explosions, Gen, Ghosts, Minecraft, Post-Manberg-Pogtopia War on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28658547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wandering_North/pseuds/Wandering_North
Summary: Idea from impcraig on Instagramhttps://instagram.com/impcraig?igshid=1lwvz8l7ga2r1Full credit to them!Tommy was always loud, laughing about dumb jokes, and causing trouble. From wars to exile, he's seen his far share of conflict caused by his actions. But perhaps, this time, he went to far. The anger laced in dreams voice was enough to make him question that. The stick of tnt enough to make him regret every action up to this point. But no apology could fix it, not this time.All he could do now, was watch the fire ingulf his home and everything fade to Grey.Story info:This takes place after exile but some things that happened in recent streams apply. Ranboo is a dog keeper for techno, ranboo was taken in by philza, philza isn't under house arrest, and a few other things.As well, the sleepy bois inc is in the story (philza, techno, Wilbur, tommy, and tubbo are all a family.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 103





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Please be kind! I'm more experienced with writing short stories💚  
> Also, if you catch any spelling mistakes please let me know!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy moves his stuff to a bunker under ghostbur's house

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a introduction type chapter
> 
> Enjoy!

The grass swayed in the late autumn wind. The wind also moving the blonde hair from Tommy's eyes and shaking leafs from trees.

It was a simple day, moving supplies around, and hidding it under ghostbur's house. It wasn't intended to be hidden, that's not the thought tommy truely had. He was just tired and wanted to go home, and thought stocking up on materials to escape with would be best.

He took he torn shirt and wiped some of the sweat from his forehead. Despite how chilly it was getting, he was still to warm. He took the last of what remained in the small house he never finished, and put it in the chest. Covering the opening with wood and walking back out to tnret.

He sat by the post holding the small tent up, sighing. Exile had worn him thin, which was evident by the state of the teen. Hair grown out, now tied back to stay off his neck, bags under his eyes, torn clothes, and a missing shoe. The kid was numb, painfully so. The daily activity of blowing up his gear had become expected, not even a bother anymore. He stopped begging dream to not set it on fire weeks ago. Instead, he found himself digging the hole and throwing everything he had in whenever he saw the green hoodie on the beach approaching.

He watched the sky, most of the time. Being eaten alive by boredom and loneliness, betrayal and anger, was wearing the boy thin. He found joy in the stars and whispy clouds. A simple thing to help pass time till dream would arrive.

All he wanted was his friends to visit. He knew he wasn't allowed back. Everyone knew that. But still, the hours he spent on his obsidian bridge waiting for someone, anyone to show up was for nothing. It hurt so bad, he destroyed part of it in anger, and stopped sitting out there all together.

All he had now was dream. despite once believing he was the enemy, he now saw him as a friend most days. He knew how bad dream was, how manipulative he was, but the only one who visited Tommy was dream. The same man who was the reason he was out there. Over time, tommy lost sight of that, only remembering when the loneliness got to much. The times the kid saw dream as anything but a friend had become so little, few and far between. Some days, the sight of lime green on the beach brought him joy, a break from the overwhelming helpless and isolation.

Tommy's hands worked their way to the compass around his neck. Shaking from malnutrition. The boy had no tears to cry today, he had ran out weeks ago. Though in that moment, tommy was happy he didn't cry. "Good riddance" he whispered. He couldn't even believe they cared anymore, the thought dangerous. It meant believing dream was evil, which tommy lost the will to do long ago.

He sighed, watching the sky as the sun moved closer to the horizon. It was still a good while till night, but that didn't matter. 'Just more time to watch the clouds I guess' tommy thought.  
Like that he stayed, resting against the tent post watching the sky, for the next few hours. There was nothing else to do, and the activity was something to keep him occupied. So he let the hours slip by, without much care or thought.


	2. My l'manburg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy tried to sleep to no avail, and find himself wandering back over to the beach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to figure out how to use ao3 is confusing so like please be kind I'm learning lmao  
> If you find a spelling mistake lmk!
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

The day was coming to a close as the sun was about to set. Tommy wasn't to bothered, actually. He forgot time moved so fast when he gets side tracked.

Looking at his unfinished building, chests still yet to be removed, he sighed thankful there wasn't anything left to move into the hidden bunker. To exhausted to want to think about moving anything else today. He breathed in, this was the second day dream hadn't shown up. It ate him alive. He worried about the masked man in the green hoodie, perhaps a bit to much.

Picking himself up, he brushed some of the dirt of. Not to much avail, but it was the thought that counts Tommy reassured himself. He wandered over to his bed, falling over. His body ached at the physical labor and lack of food. Though with no way to fix the later, tommy had to try to ignore his angry stomach. Dream usually brought him food, the area around him not having much tommy could eat. With dream gone, tommy found himself helpless. A feeling the boy had begun to feel at every turn and hated dearly.

He closed his eyes, hoping rest could sooth his muscles and provide a distraction from this hunger. But as night sky came and sleep didn't, he resorted to star gazing again. It wasn't to uncommon to toss and turn all night, and his hunger was painful that day. He muttered a few curses at nobody in particular, and sat on the sand by his tent.

The sky was a dark blue, with the small white stars filling it and bringing more light to the void. The moon was high in the sky, so bright the land around Tommy was identifiable. It reflected on the dark water, the light dancing on ripples made by fish and tommy throwing rocks. It was nice, quiet. Not a soul around. Many animals stayed in the woods at night, which made the beach safe. With the few light sources sprinkled around, mobs wouldn't hurt Tommy either.

The boy watched the sky, not a word to say. There was a time tommy would pace the beach, screaming curses at old friends who were miles to far away to ever hear. His anger was like fire in his viens, and was unbearable. That fire died a while ago. Sadness filling in the hole it left. He had nothing to say to his friends anymore. Nothing he would be proud of muttering to them. So he kept it to himself.

"Well, I've heard there was a special place" tommy sang quietly, his words almost dripping with sorrow.  
"Where man could go, and emancipate," he whispered. "The brutality and the tyranny of their ruler".

Images of his home flooded his mind. Of tubbo looking to the sun, the two sitting on their bench. Of Wilbur making drugs. Of pogtopia. Of everything he'd been through. He looked out into the ocean, knowing how close but far his home was. How if he just reached a bit farther he could grab it, but how out of the question that action was.

Tears ran down his face, like a rain after drought. It was like a flood gates was open.  
"My l'manburg" he choked out, followed by a string of curse words.

The stars hung brightly in the night sky, a cold breeze coming of the water making Tommy's tears colder. The moon seemed to watch the boy, a silent comfort. Tommy wondered if tubbo was thinking about him, looking at the same moon as him.

Tommy continued to hum his home towns anthem. Tears painting his face, remove some of the layers of grim as it went. The boy watched the sky, trying to find the made up constellations he and tubbo made on time when neither could sleep. But came up dry. The sky was to different here. 'To different' tommy thought.


	3. Then dream showed up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy wakes up underwater, realizing he must have fallen asleep and tide carried him away. But the water is the least of his worries as he spots the green hooded man sitting by his tent

His lungs feel like fire, as tommy is pulled from his sleep. The sight of the waters surface and light reflecting of puts his mind into panic mode. Not thinking of anything else besides air, he snaps from his sleep immediately.

His arms and legs scream in pain as the boy swims, and shake in exhaustion as he drags himself on shore. He chokes on air, spitting out the water he breathed in. He was there for a bit, spitting out all the water and breathing hard. His body aching more and more as the adrenaline left him.

The sound of a sword being sharpened snapped him out of the "breathe bitch" monologue he got into at some point. His head snapping up to see dream sitting beside his tent. The guy was messing around his the sword, paying no attention to tommy as he sat there stunned.

"Dream?" Tommy spoke, wondering if it was just a illusion or something from how hungry and tired he was.

"Hello tommy" dream spoke, turning to look at the half drowned boy.

Tommy couldn't speak, he just sat there in shock for a few minutes before getting up and running over to dream. He practically fell as he went to hug the masked man, to happy to see him to even worry about his drenched attire. Dream laughed a bit, wondering if he should joke about tommy missing him so much or complain about his now wet hoodie. He picked neither, deciding toying with the boy wouldn't be as much fun right now.

He picked the boy up and moved him away, trying to save himself from the teen. Tommy questioned dream, of course. Wondering why he was days early from his trip. If he had food tommy could have. The usual and expected things.

Dream grabbed a few steaks from his inventory and handed them to the boy. Tommy almost immediately finishing them all. Dream made note to leave some more if he was to leave on a trip again, as tommy seemed to have 0 ability to ration food.

They wandered around the area, dream helping tommy with cutting down trees and tommy making random jokes here and there. Tommy forgot about the day before, the loneliness he felt last night, the nearly drowning this morning. The presence of another person after days without was pure serotonin, and made tommy forget things he should have worried about more.

"Tommy." Dream said.

Tommy laughing about his cow being cut short. He stood there, the reality he forgot as hours passed had snapped back to him. His mood did a 180 from happy and care free to panicked and terrified.

He started to try to explain.

Dream cut him of, opening the chests just to get more angry at the blue eyed boy.

"This stuff I wouldn't have even taken from you!" Dream said, ignoring Tommy's cries.

It pissed dream of. He genuinely felt betrayed, wondering if this whole time the boy was acting to hide the bunker from him. The idea that he gave the teen more freedom then originally agreed, was kinder then he should have, helped when he didn't have to, all of it felt like a waste. His mind was darting from day to day, from all the things dream helped tommy with.

He placed TNT, filling the bunker as tommy tried to grab whatever he could. Dream stopped listening, he was to frustrated.

Logstedshire was blown up, the blast throwing tommy against a tree.

Tommy started throwing insults as dream as he stood up, mostly out of anger. His cow had been killed in the explosion.

On another day, perhaps dream would have listened to the boy. Heard him out.

He placed more TNT as he ran around the small area tommy had made into his base. Tommy followed, breaking whatever he could. Which, pissed dream of even more. 'he can't even accept the consequences for his actions' he thought.

He turned around, walking toward tommy with a stick of TNT in his hand. Lighting it as he walked. He grabbed the young teen, holding the stick to his face. The line right in front of Tommy's eyes.

"Damn it tommy, if you just behaved!" Dream yelled, shaking the boy.

Tommy stood still, eyes wide in terror. "Dream I'm so sor-"

"No! Your not tommy!" Dream cut him off again. He refused to listen to a word the boy said. He didn't deserve to speak, his actions said enough.

The stood there, dream cutting of tommy and tommy growing more and more panicked.

He screamed, dream didn't notice the line was gone now. The tnt was going to go of.

He dropped it, covering his face with his arms and jumping back.

The tnt exploded, dreams ears being consumed by static. The rest of the TNT went of, being set of by the one dream had held. He couldn't see through the grey smoke. Only a silhouette was visible.

Tommy fell, his back being pushed by the tnt, causing him to fall forward. His eyes ached, along with most of the rest of his body. His ears were ringing badly, it was nauseating. He tried to get up to no avail, the smoke to thic to see through and his body to painful to move.

Dream yelled out for tommy, pausing when he saw the boy collapsed on the ground.  
Guilt hit him like a truck, his gut turning as he grabbed the boy. Tommy winced, making dream drop him. 'thank god hes alive' dream thought. He called out to the boy, over and over, but never got a response.

Dream grabbed him, swinging him up to his shoulders. He walked over to a tree, and leaned tommy against it. It was then, dream realized he went to far.

Tommy's blue eyes did not meet him. Only ones grey, and fogged over.

"What have I done" dream whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed  
> If you find any spelling mistakes lmk!  
> Also sorry for the weird pace, I'm a short story author so anything longer then 1000 words is a bit weird. If you have any tips or suggestions on how to make the pacing better or improve at longer stories lmk! It's greatly appreciated💚


	4. The aftermath

Dream's heart was in his throat, regret weighing him down. His eyes once overed the kid, taking in the burns, cuts and most importantly his eyes. The grey fog was haunting.

The burnt grass was still, trees caught on fire yet to die out crackled loudly. The sun was still high in the sky, leaving nothing dream just did in darkness. Instead making sure all was seen.  
No animals made any sound, everything seemed to stay quiet. It's as if time had stopped, dream was in the eye of the storm. It all felt impossibly wrong.

Dream couldn't look. So he ran. In hopes unlike tommy, his mistakes never caught up to him.  
He couldn't muster up the courage to apologize, his regret kept him silent once the weight of the situation hit him.

Tommys body was on fire. Pain ate at his skin as tears decorated his eyes. Leaving agony in their wake as they stung the burned flesh. He knew he had been moved, he felt his stomach hit into something and then his back be placed against a tree. Confusion was starting to make him ill as the smoke never cleared. The world was grey, misty. He could see his legs and grass around him but anything farther was blurry and cut of by black patches. He could see a object glistening in the distance, sharply white in the world out of sight.

He tried to raise his arm to no avail, it was to heavy and painful to move. He legs seemed fine. It was his face and back that was impacted most.

He didn't make any sound, his throat was incredibly sore and dry. It felt bruised, and attempting to talk felt like he was being strangled. He attempted to call for dream, whispering apologises and for help. But pain soon stopped this action.

He sat there for a long time, no having the ability to move or see if dream was still around. Not able to check due to how bad his throat hurt.

He tried to focus on the feeling on grass on his foot. The one he lost his shoe for. It would press against his foot as the wind pushed it to, and leave as the wind left. That was his escape as hours passed.

All he could do now, was wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter, sorry
> 
> Also, fun fact. Blind people don't all see black! Those who have no vision see nothing, like holding your hand behind you head. It just, isn't there.  
> Most have some vision remaining, as to be legally blind you have to not be able to see 20 feet away. (Most people can see 200 feet away, that's what 20/20 vision is)
> 
> I decided to write this mostly to have a more accurate depiction of blindness and what would happen. The black spots are similar to looking at the sun to long, and would be caused by him staring at the lit part of the tnt. And the fog would be caused by the tnt exploding and the damage that did to the surface of the eye.  
> This isn't 100% accurate to what would happen, but it's much closer then the "black out" many people would expect.  
> It would likely be part of his vision was lost, so he couldn't see far left to him, or his vision would "dim" so everything wouldn't be as bright, or like this (his vision being very foggy).


	5. discovered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philza and techno blade find Tommy's exile base, or what's left of it.

Philza laughs at techno as the hybrid complains about potions and enchantment. Agreeing with the piglin mix as they wander back home.

Technos boat rocks in the waves, making the two happy to see land finally. The soft yellow colored sand and the green hills behind are a welcome sight to the pair as water splashes into Philza's boat.

The sun is a bit to harsh, the sea was a bit to still, and the dread that seemed to radiate from the beach was enough to make Philza pause. This was the same feeling he felt when he saw ghostbur for the first time, everything felt so wrong.

"Isn't this where Tommy was exiled?" Techno said lowly as no tent was in sight and the forest was replaced with half burnt trees and logs.

Philza felt chills run through him, "not another one" he whispered.

The two paddled and docked on the beach, finding chunks of wood and some of the wool from the tent. Techno followed philza lead, as Philza left his boat and wandered around. The two found more bits of wood, and a very large hole where logstedshire used to be. Techno looked to Philza, not sure whether to comfort him or not.

Techno looked around, noticing the lack of a corpse. He noticed a small trail of blood that disappeares a bit later. Whatever happened also happened recently, as yesterday when passing by everything was intact.

'blood for the blood god' 'find tommy' 'where is Tommy?' technos head started to become increasingly loud. They wouldn't stop.

Philza looked at techno, seeing the discomfort on his face. He noticed the blood trail techno was staring at, and realized it must of set it off. He wouldn't say anything for now, knowing how distressing the voices could be to the piglin mix. So he walked over to the trail and followed what little direction it gave.

Tommy had fallen over. His body now hidden by the tall grass. He was half asleep, a pounding headache had replaced the ringing and the events of the day had left the boy drained. His stomach growled and his face stained with tears that left red puffy lines from irritation the burned skin. The boy wanted to sleep, but was scared to at the same time.

"TOMMY!" he heard yelled from a bit away, unsure who it was.

He felt his shoulders be grabbed and arms wrap around him. His name repeatedly called, which lead to his head pounding more and more.

Philza saw a small patch of grass that thinned out weirdly, and blood stains on the tree beside it. His heart stopped and tears started to form by his eyes. Techno looked at Philza, placing a hand on his shoulder. The piglin was expecting to comfort the winged man as he grieved the loss of another child.

Philza ran over, yelling the boy's name. Praying to whatever god controlled the realm that tommy was at least alive. When he got to his body, he didn't stop. He immediately scooped him up and held him.

Tommy's heart beat and very quiet and muffled "Jesus Christ" meet the winged man, and mad the guy only hug the boy harder.

Techno watched a bit behind, his head was in a fury. 'Hunt dream down' 'kill whoever did this' 'crab rave' 'tommys dead pog' 'blood for the blood god' filled his head, making him cover his ears in hopes it would end.  
They would only stop if he listened. But that would only drive his head to conjure more ideas that were farmers and more violent. He learned through Phil the art of saying no, that he didn't have to listen.  
But the sheer volume of the thoughts were being to distress techno, it made him feel ill. He wanted silence, for even a second. But instead, his head was filled with pleas for revenge.

Tommy looked around, barely able to make out philzas face. The wings wrapped around him was a helpful hint at who was holding him.  
He heard movement farther away, but wasn't able to see that far.

Philza looked at the boy, able to feel Tommy's burnt skin through the holes in his shirt and just by looking at him. The boys face was a wreck. Puffy and red, small cuts all over, and blood stains around his wounds, philza was more then worried about the state of the boy. He noted how light he was as well.

"Tommy, can you see me." Philza said. It didn't sound so much as question.

Philza looked at Tommy's foggy eyes and knew the answer. Perhaps it was rude to ask, but he wanted to be sure.

The boy looked at the general silhouette of Phil, trying hard to find his eyes. The truth was, he could see. But not clearly, not the way Phil meant.

The boy had no tears to cry as he tried to say no. It was shaky, but clear enough.

Philza looked to techno, seeing him covering both his ears and his eyes screwed tight. He placed tommy down and whispered to stay still.

Techno looked at Phil, who was walking to him. The piglin was feeling weak on his feet, and wanted to hunt down dream. He wanted to listen to the voices, who became so incredibly loud. Phil knew that. As he seemed to know everything. He didn't hug him, only whispering to wait.  
"You can hunt him down later. Right now, tommy needs our help"

Techno slowly nodded, still consumed by the chaos unfolding in his mind. He clenched his jaw.

The two walked back over to tommy, who was half asleep against the tree. Philza knew from what he felt, the wounds were bad and the boy would need immediate medical attention. However, the only place he could take him for that was technos.

Leaving the boy there In that state was a death sentence. The twos history together was complicated as well. The young boy had betrayed the hybrid a few times, leading to technos general distrust for others. Who could blame him, nobody deserves to be used like techno was.

Philza was about to speak, ask to at least treat the boy.

But techno walked over, removing his clock to place on tommy.

"It's cold where we're going" techno said.

Philza breathed out in relief and gratitude, picking up tommy to avoid further harm to the boy. As well knowing the kid was likely unable to walk judging on his lack of ability to hold himself up against a tree.

Techno went back to collect the boats, telling philza to start heading home and he'd catch up.

And to the north they went, in hopes of helping the boy that joined their ranks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit longer. Also, if you find spelling mistakes lmk.
> 
> Also, I struggled with techno a bit as I want some accuracy to his character to.
> 
> Psychosis can be very different for everyone, and hearing voices does not make someone evil. In fact, a massive majority don't act based on what they hear and most do not hear violent things (telling them to hurt others, for example).
> 
> It can actually be as Simple as hearing a fly buzz around or a light click of and on, or sound like a crowd of people or something falling.
> 
> In technos case, it's based on his stream chat. Which, is incredibly chaotic. But tend to find consistency around acts of violence.  
> So, of course there is a level of dishonesty when compared to actually psychosis or hearing voices.
> 
> His character should not be used as a representation of psychosis or schizophrenia.  
> Please keep this in mind 💚


	6. new beginings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> philza and techno take tommy back home to treat his wounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this whole chapter was deleted multiple times. please excuse that, im not sure how noticable it will be, as i partly lost motivation after that.
> 
> this chapter is a bit different the the originally, also its pretty long
> 
> hope you guys enjoy it
> 
> (also finding names for chapters is hard lol, this chapters name doesn't fit well but i cant think of anything else)

snowed covered the land techno's house sat on, only thinning around lanterns that were scattered around the house. ranboos place was of to the right by the mountains that sat behind techno's place. a bee farm close to the mountains, a small tent like house philza had made to sleep in. techno's house was only build to house him, as he lived alone when the building was made.

but recently, he found himself with 3 others living with him.

the snow collected on the trees, only falling of when something brushed against it or the weight of the snow got to heavy.

tommy had fallen asleep in philzas arms a while ago, worrying him enough to stop every few minutes to check the boys pulse. techno didn't mind the short breaks, it was the worry that was on philzas face that worried the piglin. he saw a similar expression back when he was younger and he didn't say no to his voices. it was the after effects of philza own inability to saw no that he saw on the older's face. which, troubled him a fair bit.

the two finally made it out of the spruce forest, techno sad to not be able to watch the forests canopy anymore. he looked in front of him to see philza, as techno had taken to following him instead of trying to stay beside him. he didn't worry to heavily, unlike phil, that tommy would be okay.

the weight of the twos betrayal was all techno could think of as they walked home, and he wondered if he could forgive the boy.

philza waited at the bottom of the stairs, knowing he couldn't open the door with tommy in his arms. so he waited for techno to open the door. techno passed the winged man and opened the door, watching the other dart in without saying a word. he laughed quietly at philzas concern, and stepped into his house. he closed the door behind him, standing by it to not get in philzas way.

ghostbur was floating around the room, waiting for his invisibility potions to finish brewing. he jumped when he saw tommy and philza, not expecting anyone to be back in hours, let alone tommy. he went over to the wall as to get out of philzas way, confused by the rush he seemed to be in.

"hi phil! why is tommy here?" he spoke, cheery as usual.

techno looked at the ghost, wanting the guy to picked his words carefully. philza wasn't doing well, and probably was having similar issues to techno at the moment. so he tried to telepathically tell the ghost to just leave him alone.

"ghostbur not right now" philza said quickly, placing tommy down by the crafting table to go grab potions to heal him.

ghostbur looked at tommy, confused. he floated over, sitting in front of the boy, his head flopped over to the side like a dog. he saw the upset flesh by his eyes, and the cuts along his neck. if he wasn't a ghost, he would have paled from the sight. he didn't realize earlier due to the panic and philzas wings covering the boy a far bit. so now that he was up close, he saw almost everything.

he stuttered, "phil?....". memories and feelings filled the ghost. sending the boy into a panic. he tried to forget all of it, but sometimes he'd remember. and when he did remember, he tried everything he could to forget again.

techno watched as ghostbur seemed to act more like he did when he was alive. something the piglin missed so dearly. his relationship with Wilbur was always the best out of everyone. they had been together since they were young and grew up incredibly close. it was the only relationship in the family he knew fully what to expect. Wilbur and techno always seemed to think the same, do the same. they were in tune with each other. losing that was devastating.

the family had always been weird. not a single one was related, they were a found family type situation.  
philza had found techno in the over world while he was cutting down trees, and saved him from becoming a zombie piglin. philza found Wilbur a few days later in those same woods, leading to the joke they were twins. tommy was found almost drowning in the ocean, philza swooping down to save him. tubbo the group found while in a city, tommy refused to leave him behind.  
ranboo was the newest to join the dynamic. the tall creator had found himself homeless after techno, dream and phil blew up l'manburg. philza knowing what issues ranboo had and having grown to enjoy his help, offered him a place to stay.  
as they got older, things became messy.  
techno watched Wilbur make a country and government, and wanted to support him. but it turned sour, and he watched his brother lose himself in that ravine. that was what made techno the anarchist he was today, watching his brother completely shatter from it.  
techno was forced to pick sides, as tommy and tubbo made a government right in front of the piglin. leading to the first betrayal.  
then, tommy's first exile. dream had treated him horrible, leading the boy to attempt a escape. he found techno's place, and stayed in his basement. they two grew close again, incredibly close.  
until techno told tommy his plan to end l'manburg once and for all. and the next day, watched as the blonde haired boy picked l'manburg over him. another betrayal.  
at that point, philza was living with techno, and watched the piglin give up on trusting others. philza saw what governments did to people, and told techno he would follow him in his plan.  
techno's relationship with ghostbur was weird. it broken phil, having been the one to take his life. but for techno, he could help but see his Wilbur when he looked at ghostbur, despite that side being heavily repressed and partly gone. when ghostbur broke after his l'manburg plan succeeded, and begged everyone he could to revive him, techno felt hope. hope that his brother would return, and he could make things right.

when techno heard of what happened, that tubbo had left tommy in a house as dream came, he didn't feel anything. he knew how cruel and heartless the masked man could be, and what would happen if dream got tommy alone. he was actually kinda happy tommy got his karma.  
but now seeing how torn up his dad and brother were, and how tommy was, he felt disgusted he even thought for a minute what tommy got was karma.

the ghost started to cry, feeling things that confused him. his chest hurt, and looking at tommy made it all worse. he grabbed his potions and drank one, whispering he had to go to techno as he exited through the front door. he couldn't watch the boy, but couldn't leave either. so he found himself sitting between techno's house and the bee farm, holding his shirt ad he sobbed blue tears.

philza grabbed cloth and bandages, running back upstairs to the boy. his potions had finished brewing, and others that had been made before were now laying beside tommy. techno had gone upstairs and gotten a blanket to lay the boy on so they could deal with his back, and returned downstairs to find philza soaking some cloths with healing potions.

philza brought one to tommy's face, starting to wipe away at the burn by his jaw. he'd need to clean the boy too, as he was covered in mud and grim. philza muttered cursed, pissed that after hearing dream had captured the boy that he did nothing. 'could things be different if i got him back then' philza thought.

tommy's face felt like fire, burning worse then the TNT did. he woke up with a jolt, pushing philza away and trying to get up. philza had wiped over his eyes, which left the bot unable to open his eyes without severe pain. he cursed and screamed, rubbing at his eyes only to make it worse. he was confused and unsure of where he was, leading him to be very aggressive in response to feeling someone grab his shoulder.

techno dropped the blanket by the brewing stands and walked over to tommy, grabbing the boy to try to keep him from messing with his face. he pulled the boy to him, flipping him around so Tommy's back was against techno's chest. techno held tommy against him, sitting down with his back against his crafting table and chests. he held tommy in a way the boy couldn't move his hands either, hoping the boy didn't further wreck his face.

tommy continued to yell and scream and philza tried to clean his wounds. it bugged philza a lot, feeling remorseful for the boy and his head telling him he was a horrible father. techno's own voices were pretty upset as well, whispering pleas to attack philza and help tommy. both men knew how foolish the voices were being, and knew it was in tommy's best interest to do this.

ghostbur was sobbing when ranboo found him, having returned from gathering items he needed. he hear tommy screaming inside first, and discovered Wilbur when he saw a flicker from in between the two buildings. as he had no idea what was going on, he decided to try to comfort ghostbur. the two sat outside, ranboo saying it will be okay and hes sure whatever is happening its all gonna b fine in the end.

philza had finished cleaning the boys face and neck, and had begun to wrap it with bandages. tommy's screams had quieted down a lot and his curses had grown few. the boy had grown exhausted, and went limp against techno a while ago. techno was fiddling with tommy's hair, hoping the boy would find some comfort in it like techno did, or at least realize who was with him.

philza and techno didn't speak, but they knew how the other felt. techno was worried for philza, who was tearing up and looking ill. philza was sorry for techno, who was helping the same kid who hurt him weeks ago.  
they both heard ranboo outside comforting Will, which they both were grateful for as they could hear him crying. it was similar to when friend had died, which hurt philza a lot knowing how badly that affected his son.

philza was ready to move onto tommy's back, his face and neck wrapped in a layer of bandages with clothes over top to try to keep everything a bit cleaner.

philza paused for a bit, looking at techno. techno understood the drift. tommy was extremely uncomfortable with clothing. as a kid, he refused to swim without a shirt, wouldn't change with the others, and would only let philza treat his wounds if it meant removing his clothing. he wasn't comfortable with it at all. when they were younger, techno and Will would tease tommy for it, making joke and trying to get him to at least swim without a shirt. one day, the jokes went to fair. Will had jokingly pulled at his shirt, lifting it enough to expose some skin. tommy stood frozen, tears building up and falling as the boy stopped swearing. tommy gritted his teeth, and slapped Wilbur. philza had a long talk with everyone that day, and everyone apologized and never joked about it again.

techno knew philza wasn't as strong as him. philza was agile, where techno was more strong. philza could move tommy, but couldn't in a way that wouldn't hurt the boy further. philza sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to do what he needed to alone.

"you can stay, but nothing is said about anything. no jokes, no telling Wilbur, nothing." philza said quite harshly, wanting to make sure he was taken seriously.

the piglin nodded, "ill apologize to him later" he said in reference to tommy.

the two removed his shirt and rolled up the bottoms of his pants, wiping everything down with clothes soaked with different potions before wrapping them up with bandages and cloth. techno flipped the boy over and went upstairs, giving the two privacy so philza could make sure his legs were fully treated.

when philza was done, he called techno down. philza had put the left over potions and empty bottles away and was now sitting beside tommy who was covered by philza cloak. techno walked over and sat down. a few feet from philza. the two looked at the boy who had fallen asleep again.

"i need help carrying him to my house." philza spoke

"first, its a tent, not a house. second, that is the worse place for him to heal and you know it" techno half joked.

he and philza both knew how cold philzas tent could get, and how hard it would be for tommy to properly recover in there. it was fine for philza, who would wrap himself in his wings and a few fur blankets and be fine. there wasn't a lot of room to add another person, and tommy would surely get cold.

"it not fair to ask you to house him, not after what he did and all you've done for him" philza spoke quietly, not wanting to upset techno by triggering those memories.

techno sat quietly.  
he would have give tommy the world if the boy asked. he was prepared to fight them all for him. he remembered finding him in his basement, and how he felt like he needed to protect him. how happy he felt when he joked with the boy. when Wilbur died, he felt so lost. the whole gang went their own ways except tubbo and tommy. techno went to the north, hoping in retirement he could find peace. but he could, not when he heard of tommy's exile, not when tubbo, ranboo, quackity, and Fundy showed up to kill him, and ghostbur was to innocent to realize and lead them right to him. he never found peace. he was dragged from his attempt at it, back to a world forever drowning in conflict and war.  
he remembered how he felt walking home that day, after tommy picked tubbo and 30 people tried to kill him. how he watched philzas face drop when he saw only techno return, how bitter philzas word "enough is enough" were.  
he just wanted his family, everything that he lost.  
he nearly cried remembering what he screamed at tommy only a few weeks ago. how angry he felt, how tired he was. he remembered how angry philza responded to someone asking why he was doing it. how the world seemed to fall apart and he yelled at the other about killing his son, and how many memories flashed in techno's head.  
philza and techno both walked paths full of pain. perhaps that's why they cared so much.  
why techno yelling at tommy as bombs fell, that he was a person and philza pissed someone would forget that philza was forced to take his own sons life, hurt the other so deeply.

techno wanted to start fresh. he doubted he would ever let the boy in like he did once. but he hoped that at least, tommy would apologize and the two could exist with no baggage between them. no resentment, or anger. just passive to the other at least. techno hated to be mad at his younger sibling, and if he could never have what once was, he would take forgiveness and neutrality.

"if he gives me any reason to believe hes not sorry, that he will hurt me again, or anything like that, i will not hesitate to throw him in the woods. phil, i'm not going to let myself be used again."

"i understand, thank you.. son." philza spoke slowly, relieved.

philza knew techno would only house the boy, and wouldn't be the kindest to him. but that situation was better then nothing, so he took it.

he looked over to his two children,  
tommy was misguided and to forgiving. techno was shaped by pain and suffering.  
tommy was loud, made mistakes and joked his way from punishment. techno was calculative and smart, he never did anything without a plan and stuck to his goals.  
the two got along incredibly well. techno always joked about just tolerating the boy, but the truth was he didn't mind. yes he was frustrating, and didn't listen. but the moments the two got along, those memories techno treasured deeply.

philza hoped tommy wouldn't fuck this up, as he headed outside to find ghostbur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to clarify the timeline im using  
> tommy ran away during the first exile. this story starts after dream, philza, and techno have blown l'manburg.
> 
> tommy is turned in by tubbo, and dream takes him back to the exile grounds. where then this story starts.
> 
> i wanted to include stuff that's happened recently in this, as i love the idea of Wilbur coming back and ranboo being in the sleepy bois inc dynamic.
> 
> feel free to ask questions, i hope my explanation made enough sense.


	7. that night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the rest of that day

many hours had passed since philza had found ghostbur and brought him inside. the ghost had withdrawn himself from conversation, having grown exhausted from emotions that were taxing to the dead.

ghost grew very exhausted by emotions, and take hours to get back to normal after. its extremely taxing on there body and can lead to them disappearing permanently. this is why ghosts that hold onto things, such as unfinished business or locations fade away when the task is complete or the location is gone. there is no longer a tether to this word. this is triggered by the overwhelming feeling of being free, which can be substituted with other emotions if severe enough.

philza was aware of this, having spent hours looking into ghosts when ghostbur had died and even more when the boy asked to be brought back. so in light of that, he kept his words to the ghost short. wanting him to spent his time recovering instead of getting more drained from questions that wouldn't help anyone.

tommy was sound asleep still, now under a few blankets. he was currently set up by the fire, just to make sure he was warm. though techno was aware how bad the stuff that happened to tommy could bother him, he himself struggling with nightmares of moments in his past. for this reason, the piglin considered taking the kid upstairs once he knew he would be warm enough up there. the last thing he wanted was a 17 year old boy absolutely panicked at 4am and alone. he didn't want to risk anything.

techno spoke to philza, talking about things he needed to do at some point and items he was low on. just trying to lift the mood. they discussed totems, and using one on ghostbur. it was general stuff, nothing outside what they usually would discuss.

the fire crackled. it was now the only light source in the small house. its orange and red flames shown on the walls, lighting everything in similar shades. outside the air had gotten colder, and now aggressively hit against windows. it had started lightly snowing again, nothing out of the normal for the small base in the north. 

"I'm heading off" philza said with a yawn, stretching out his back that was sore from sitting.

techno nodded, getting tired himself. unlike philza, his exhausted isn't something he'd announce, even in these situations. he was still dealing with his own past and general distrust. and feared for his safety when discussing weak ends.

the piglin took of his cloak finally, placing it on the chair and heading upstairs. ghostbur had fallen asleep already, and was somewhere floating around. ghost didn't need to sleep, but when they were tired from emotions they would. they did this odd thing were they would just disappear while sleeping. it was similar to a invisibility potion, but had no time restraint. techno remembered how cool philza thought it was after 30 minutes of panic when one day ghostbur just vanished after getting incredibly upset about friend. it was something philzas books never mentioned.

techno flopped into bed, he back hitting the mattress while he thought of nothing in particular.

'life will surely get interesting.' he thought, caving into sleep as his eyes drifted closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can explain-
> 
> sorry for such a long wait time. my laptop has been horrible and life has been busy. also I've been in absolute emotional tumor over awesamdude and tommy and puffys dynamic. like, how am i not suppose to cry like hijaifbis.
> 
> i really enjoy sbi as it was a huge comfort and has my favorite streamers. but lately ive kinda accepted it not canon and find myself enjoying sam and puffy acting super family like with tommy.   
> the kid needs it, the traumatized child.
> 
> ill keep writing this, but i think ill include the two in this somehow.
> 
> updates might be slow in the future, sorry in advance.  
> trying to balance being up to date on SMP stuff, my own personal life (which is busy due to my health), basic tasks like cleaning and stuff, is pretty hard. so this book is pretty much when i find time.
> 
> check out my twitter for updates! i also post art there. its mossy_warden.
> 
> (also, my current plan is next chapter will be emotionally heavy, and the one after more wholesome. plans change, but the drafts are started. fair warning)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> potential tw

dream stood in the tall grass, both he and the surrounding landscape unmoving. his mask was stained, blood caked the right side of it covering parts of the engraved smiling face. a axe was held tightly in dreams hand, a purple hue. neitherite.

Tommy's heart was racing, whispering in his sleep. however the small boy remained asleep, much to his dismay.

"your items, tommy." dream said.  
the green hoodie shifting as dream raised his axe. tommy could hear the smile dream had hidden behind that white mask. it made him angry, and terrified. red lines glistened in the light. they were thin and a dark red, and wrapped around Tommy's neck. they constricted around him, leaving him starved for air. the boy stopped being able to hear, only the sound of his heart pounding audible.

tommy rolled over in his sleep, grasping at his neck.  
"let go!" he whispered.

dream approached the panicking boy, his axe falling to his side and swinging with each stride towards the boy. tommy began screaming. his lungs feeling like fire as every plea was embers to his respiratory system. tears painted his face as the strings got tighter, the world faded, and the blood stained mask stalked closer.

techno woke up to the sound of screaming, and immediately grabbed some gear and ran downstairs. he was greeted by philza who had heard the boy from outside and rushed in, and tommy who was pushed against the wall while he clawed aggressively at his neck. tears painted the boys face, and blood his neck.

dreams axe swung at tommy, cutting his eyes. he boy couldn't scream, no longer having air to fuel his plea for dream to stop. his body went numb, falling against burn grass and rocks.  
"oh tommy, you should have listened." dream said. dreams head was now sideways, the smiled feeling more haunting as red strings cascaded from behind it.

philza grabbed the boys hands away from his neck, trying to stop the boy from wrecking his neck further. techno grabbed whatever potions he had and hurried upstairs. the two spoke quickly and soft, trying to avoid panicking the boy. philza wrapped his wings around tommy, trying to give him comfort as he tried to wake him.

amidst the darkness, tommy felt the grass rub against him. slowly changing to feel like a blanket wrapped around him. he felt the chard ends and missing patches against his back and arms. it reminded him of his dad.

"tommy wake up" philza spoke.

tommy was in the main floor of techno's house again, face stained from tears and neck on fire from pain.

tommy felt the knit shirt against his hands as he desperately tried to find something to prove where he was. philzas wings wrapped tighter around the boy, and a hand grabbed Tommy's. tommy was shaking badly, and continued to sob. philza guided Tommy's hand to a feather on his wings, hoping the boy would understand. the burnt wings were rough, the edges still gaged and patches missing from the explosion. tommy knew who was holding him, and hugged him tightly.

techno watched the pair from a distance, still unsure how to go about everything.

philza let tommy fall back asleep, resigning to a chair nearby to watch over him after fixing the ruined bandages tommy wrecked from his nightmare.

"this is going to be a rough few weeks it seems" philza sighed, looking at techno who hadn't said much of anything.

the piglin nodded, heading back upstairs.


End file.
